Differential processing of part-to-whole and part-to-part face priming: anERP study

WE provide electrophysiological evidence supporting the hypothesis that par t and whole face processing involve distinct functional mechanisms. We used a congruency judgment task and studied part-to-whole and part-to-part prim ing effects. Neither part-to-whole nor part-to-part conditions elicited ear ly congruency effects on face-specific ERP components, suggesting that acti vation of the internal representations should occur later on. However, thes e components showed differential responsiveness to whole faces and isolated eyes. In addition, although late ERP components were affected when the eye targets were not associated with the prime in both conditions, their tempo ral and topographical features depended on the latter. These differential e ffects suggest the existence of distributed neural networks in the inferior temporal cortex where part and whole facial representations may be stored. NeuroReport 10:1069-1075 (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.